Parking Fines - Revenue Raising?

[The Zigster]

I am not entirely againts parking fines. Sure, you have to do something to stop people parking wherever they want for however long they want to but then a situation that I have been put in extends what I think is a reasonable method of enforcing parking laws.

I got a parking fine for parking in a permit zone in the Mellbourne CBD. Ok, I can deal with that, I thought I looked at the sign but obviously misread it. So in annoyant frustration (with Melb City Council and myself) I throw the fine in the glovebox and blissfully forget about it. The fine was $60 or so.

I eventually misplace the original fine and forget about it for even longer.

A month goes by and I get a reminder notice plus an additional $19 added to the fine....for what.. a letter?

I keep putting it off (for another couple of weeks) and finally call Melb City Council and they tell me I am too late and its been passed on to some infringement court.

I call the court, they tell me the fine is now $140!!! Ouch, apparently the additional $60 are administration and court costs? I dont remember going to court and certainly automated infringment data transfers online cannot cost that much so why do I have to fork out so much cash?

Please dont respond with..."Well you should have just paid the fine first time, on time".. I have been telling myself this all day after realising I am going to have to fork out $140.


Do you think parking fines taken to this degree are unfair and motivated by raising revenue?

 

[Dozer]

Well you should have just paid the fine first time, on time.


I think parking fines are fair. They are there for a reason and they do seem harsh to some but that is just the way it is.....I always check the signs where I park and I haven't buggered up yet. Our local parking Nazi is also a very precise marker and keeps it to the exact time frame......he has plenty of friends around town.
A relative of mine parked in a disabled spot outside a shopping centre during the week and got a $340 fine. She isn't disabled and knew that she shouldn't park there......sucked in I say!

 

[The Zigster]

Dozer,

Either you missed the point or I didn't make mine clear enough. We'll give you the benefit of the doubt and run with the latter. I was more interested in whether you think the ongoing additional charges are fair?

Cheers

Zig

 

[timmy84]

mate i totally agree, thats such a joke. the same thing happened to me and a mate when we were in perth, though their fines are $100 straight up. i did forget to pay it but the just sent a reminder notice and i just payed it.

i dont see how they can justify $60 administration to the court?
it takes a simple email or probable not even that its more than likely automated.

but what can you do except pay the fine? the fines are bad themselves but its the parking officers that are worse.they need to relax more!

my sisters friend didn't pay a heap of parking fines and he ended up going to court and lost his licence for a year, so its probably best to pay it and forget about it.

at least you wont do it again

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Do you think parking fines taken to this degree are unfair and motivated by raising revenue?

Damn right! Whilst the initial fines are a fair call, the extra charges you get hit with for late payment are waay out of line especially when the 'administration costs' are to pay for a single generic letter! I'm waiting for an infraction notice for travelling on Citylink and forgetting to pay the toll - no big deal normally but they've taken that long to send out the fine that I'm now stuck in f***ing Angola, can't pay the fine as it'll be sitting in my letterbox and I'll probably be stuck with an even bigger one when I get back.

At the end of the day parking fines, speed cameras etc are run by private enterprises and we all know what they're like when it comes to profit...

 

[The Zigster]

Ahhh...Sympathy, just what I needed..

Quite right: I will not let it happen again. The parking inspectors themselves I have no quandry with. Everyone has to do a job. I must admit, I do wonder what on earth motivated them to take on one of the most loathed jobs available but they are just doing what they are told. That is, as long as they are fair.

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

, I do wonder what on earth motivated them to take on one of the most loathed jobs available but they are just doing what they are told.

They obviously didn't score high enough on the c**t exam to become tram inspectors.

As for the second part, wasn't that a common excuse used in the nuremberg trials?

 

[RCOH]

If there were no additional charges why would anyone pay the fine. If you could wait as long as you wanted to pay a fine, with no penalty why would you do the right thing in the first place.

Of course the additional costs are way more than the actual cost of notifying you that your payment is overdue but they are a big deterrent for repeat offences.

So, as much as I hate them (I have been stung numerous times, I don't learn) I do think they are necessary.

 

[toodles]

Go watch Lock, Stock and Two Smokin Barrels about 5 times and you'll feel better about the whole thing...

Increasing a fine by 130% because you were late is a bit steep... Maybe a decent warning notice first up would have been courtesy? Court costs are a crock too... I'd love to see the million individual court cases involved if they actually took that shit to court.